Senators Lose 2-1 (OT) To Islanders

It may be the first week of February but tonight’s game between the Islanders and the Senators was definitely an important one for this Ottawa squad. The Senators opened the night just 2 points up on 8th place Toronto and 1 point up on 7th place New Jersey. The fact that they have played more games than either of those teams just adds even more urgency. Breaking the 4 game losing streak was of utmost importance.

Unfortunately for those that bought a ticket, neither team seemed to want to win it early on. Missed nets, inaccurate passing, lazy chip-ins & sluggish play riddled the first 40 minutes. Even the one goal that was scored, Zack Smith’s shorthanded marker late in the second, was due to Evgeni Nabokov simply missing the shot with his glove. It was ugly and not much fun to watch.

The Islanders quickly tied it in the third when Jared Cowen & Sergei Gonchar both took PA Parenteau on a 2 on 2 rush. That left Matt Martin wide open to receive the pass and perfect his aim. One quick snapshot later and the score was even.

So, it was on to overtime where the Senators luck finally ran out. A breakdown in their offensive zone allowed Mark Eaton to catch Craig Anderson out of position and backhand the puck into the open net to give the Islanders the 2-1 victory. An ugly ending to an ugly game for the Senators.

Notes: Zack Smith’s goal in the second broke a string of 8 straight games where the opposition had scored first against the Senators. The loss was Ottawa’s 5th straight. Craig Anderson made 30 saves in his 16th straight start. It was revealed that Jason Spezza was/is suffering from the flu.